The Return (after An Absence Of Around 6 To 8 Years)

[scotmurie]

I apoligise if this is in the wrong forum .
It seems half a lifetime since I did anything RC, but the Son in law bought the Grandson a quadcopter and it got my interest in the hobby pushed back into the front of my mind.
After a few internet searches I discover that theres not as much suppliers of bits and pieces (kits and upgrades)
for my interceptor 400 and I,m left wondering what I should do with what Ive got namely batteries and the like (are the batteries safe to charge and use ?).
What actually happened inside the industry to cause this contraction ? I can see that it all seems to be quadcopters and not much helicopters and I wonder about the other parts of the hobby; planes and cars and the like ?

Thanks scot.

 

[Smoggie]

Welcome back Scot!

The RC heli hobby has shrunk quite a bit in recent years, I'm not sure exactly why but the popularity of 'drones' probably has a lot to do with it. But not to worry too much, the hobby is still alive and well albeit just a bit smaller in numbers. With the hobby shrinking some brands have fallen by the wayside, especially so some of the lower cost manufacturers who have either disappeared or gone over to drones. Some dealers have disappeared too or gone over to drones.

I'm not familiar with the Interceptor 400 but Google tells me that Heliguy still has them, along with spare parts: RC Helicopters, Accessories and Parts - Heliguy

I'm afraid that if the batteries are 8 years old then almost certainly they are toast, LiPos dont last forever. Having said that, if they look ok (no 'puffing') then it wouldn't do any harm to try charging them (in a safe place just in case). Monitor them during charging and stop if the battery starts to swell. Don't be surprised though if they either dont charge, or the heli wont run properly when you install them.

I think the heli takes 3S 2200mAh batteries, this is a common size and still easily available and not too expensive. As luck would have it i see you aren't far from me. I'm in Aberdeen (Bridge of Don) so if you wanted to meet up to give your heli a try out just say. I think that I still have some 3S 2200mAh batteries stashed away that should be in working condition that you could use for testing if you like.

cheers
Steve

 

[Admiral]

Welcome to the forum Scott and back to the hobby, you will find a lot has changed in the hobby and I think for the better. Drones have caused a wain in interest in helicopters because they are so easy to fly, you could teach a monkey to fly one, I'm finding that the cheaper Helicopters are not so readily available as the manufacturers have moved to Drones but there appears to be more high end brands appearing for the Heli enthusiasts that tried Drones and come back or stuck with helicopters.

 

[scotmurie]

Hi Guys,
thanks for the welcome but you know I never really left. The truth would be that time has passed and I've been so busy with other aspects of life that I kinda mislayed the RC hobby (stored in a box in the spare bedroom) but now its been dusted down and rediscovered. Now its about re-learning what I've forgotten and learning what I didn't know.
Yes Steve were not that far apart (around 30 miles) I'm actually in a wee place called Finzean. I've ordered up a magazine to help get me back into the swing of things "ROTORWORLD"....is this a good choice ? The batteries look ok with no dents or marks and yes they feel solid but I maybe need to get myself a proper charging bag just in case because I do remember the scary videos that showed batteries exploding.
RC Heli's was started by me as a challenge and still remains an unfinished challenge but I'm back with renewed enthusiasm and maybe at the right time to see the hobby like me on the rise again . Thanks to you both for your words.

scot...

 

[Smoggie]

Scot,

I dont bother too much with magazines anymore as it's pretty much available on line now, but having said that I'm sure it will be a worthwhile read.

If you charge the batteries in a garage or outdoors (what it's dry obviously) you would be safe enough. I'd be surprised if they do still work after all this time but it's worth a try. the fact that they aren't puffed up is encouraging. A quick check of the cell voltages would be worth doing, if they have fallen below 3V per cell it wouldn't look good for recovery.

Probably the two biggest changes since you left the hobby is the virtually complete take over of 2.4GHz systems from the older FM radios, this was probably well on it's way when you were flying. The extinction of the flybar in favour of flybarless is the other big change. Flybarless is a real leap in helicopter technology. Modern flybarless controllers have some really clever 'self levelling' stabilisation capabilities that can make a heli almost 'drone like' to fly so a lot easier for a beginner to get to grips with.